The present invention relates to devices for holding eyeglasses and the like securely in place on a wearer's head, as during athletic exercise, and particularly to such a device which is adjustable and permits removal of the glasses from the wearer's head without the device having to be removed from the glasses.
Various devices have been used in the past to hold eyeglasses and other eye protective items in place more securely than is normally done simply by the bows of the eyeglasses. The previously-known devices for this purpose, however, suffer from certain shortcomings.
For example, Enghofer U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,703 discloses eyeglass frames having included elastic cords which may be extended from the rearmost ends of the bows. The elastic cords include devices for connecting their exposed ends together. The Enghofer device, however, is not readily adaptable to existing eyeglass frames.
Other known devices include a strap having end portions which may be attached to the temples of ordinary eyeglass frames to retain the eyeglasses on a wearer's head. Adjustability of most such devices is provided by sliding the forward ends of such devices to an appropriate position along the temples of the glasses frames. Adjustment in this fashion in not particularly secure, and such devices do not permit easy removal of the glasses from the wearer's head.
As one example of such devices, Fuller U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,604 discloses an eyeglass retainer comprising an elastic strap having tubular end portions formed by sewing together opposite edges of the terminal portions of the strap. These tubular portions are slipped over the ends of the bows and placed on the straight horizontal temples of a pair of glasses, where they are not particularly attractive in appearance, and add bulk to the temples, possibly pressing against the wearer's head. This device must be adjusted by sliding the tubular portions to an appropriate position along the temples. There is no provision for removal of the glasses from the wearer's head without sliding the tubular portions rearwardly along the temples of the glasses. Unless one portion of the device is removed from the bow of a pair of glasses, any cap or hat must be removed to permit a user to remove his glasses.
What is desired, therefore, is an improved device for retaining eyewear, which is secure and comfortable, is adjustable to fit the wearer's head, which does not require removal of the device from the eyewear or removal of a user's cap in order to remove the eyewear from the wearer's head, and which is useful with conventional eyeglasses and the like.